Son of Eraklyon
by Sanrii
Summary: During a visit for the new king of Eraklyon to an unfamiliar realm, complications arise when when Sky is the intended target of an assassination. Sky challenges the would-be killer, pushing Bloom, Brandon, and Queen Samara aside, unable to turn Sky away from the war he has chosen to wage. Will Sky emerge victorious, or will the noble bloodline of Eraklyon be cut short?
1. Chapter 1

**Preface:**

In terms of timeline, this story takes place after the first movie. AU after that, and some maybe some slight OOC, as I'm not really used to writing the characters instead of just watching them. Using names from the RAI English dub.

* * *

Sky had stayed at the back of the cruiser, keeping his eyes transfixed on his home planet of Eraklyon as it seemed smaller and smaller. He sighed softly as Bloom placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Are you alright?" Bloom asked, concerned for Sky's well-being. Sky turned to look her in her eyes, seeing compassion lying within the sparkling blue.

"Yeah... it's just I wanted to meet up with a couple of people before leaving again," Sky responded dejectedly.

"Hey, at least we're with you!" Brandon managed to include himself in the conversation.

"Don't worry Sky," Bloom said cheerily. "We'll only be there for two days, and then we'll be coming back to Eraklyon."

"You're right," Sky smiled at Bloom.

"So, run this by me," Brandon said, having not been briefed on the mission beforehand. "Where exactly are we going?"

"My mother and I were invited to come over to a realm called Litus, just to check some stuff and make sure it's being well kept."

"Why is it that you have to do this?" Brandon asked.

"Litus is a part of Eraklyon's empire," Sky explained. "It was given to us several years ago, when I was about seven. I'm not sure about who had control of it before my family did though."

"I see," Brandon looked out the window. "Well, I guess there's not much we can do now but wait the trip out." Sky looked out the back of the vessel once again, but was unable to see any trace of Eraklyon in the distance.

"Let's go back to the passenger cabin," Bloom suggested. Sky took one last look back into space, and followed Brandon and Bloom as they left the room.

* * *

Hours after the discussion on the nature of the journey, the Eraklyon ship touched down on the surface of Litus, which was a realm composed of multiple archipelagos. The island the vessel landed on was the largest in the northern hemisphere, outside of the royal palace. The palace was a rather large piece of architecture, very square in shape, built for defensive efficiency rather than royal extravagance. It was nothing spectacular compared to the royal dwellings found on Eraklyon, Solaria or the recently restored Domino. The palace courtyard was filled mostly with exotic trees and plants, with a fountain being the centrepiece.

Sky, Samara, Bloom and Brandon were all greeted upon exiting their ship with a great fanfare of trumpets, and a fine carpet to tread upon, guards lined up along the sides, holding their spears in salute. Waiting near the ship was a small wiry man with a smile on his face. The man seemed to be shaking in anticipation.

"Welcome to Litus your majesties!" The man kneeled down to the visitors in reverence. "I hope you'll find everything here to your liking."

"I am sure everything will be perfect," Samara said warmly to the man, as he stood up.

"It pleases me that you were able to make it so soon," the man grinned. "But, please excuse my rudeness! I have not properly introduced myself yet. I am Kejes Thun, the steward of the Litus palace.

"I am Queen Samara of Eraklyon," Samara began. "And this is my son, King Sky of Eraklyon," she gestured towards Sky who just casually raised his hand up by the elbow. This earned him a light nudge in his ribs from Brandon, making Sky drop his hand back down to his side.

"It is good to finally meet Eraklyon's monarchs," Kejes replied while clasping his hands together. He looked over his shoulder and saw that the blue sun was beginning to set, the horizon turning into a rich purple. "It is getting quite late your majesties. We've prepared a banquet in your honour, as well as rooms for the four of you. Please, follow me."

The four visitors followed the slim man through the large stone entrance of the palace, into the throne room. It seemed that all the royal lavishness had been kept hidden from the bland exterior of the palace and saved for the interior. The room was large and spacious; pillars on the sides of the hall supported the roof, with different fabrics draped all over the walls. The throne itself was somewhat far back from the entrance, up a few stairs. What marvelled the visitors the most however, was the floor of the room, which was a made of a smooth translucent stone, under which a river flowing from a source underneath the throne towards the grand entrance could be seen. A door to the right of the throne led to the dining hall, which had a prepared table waiting for the travellers.

The group sat down at the table to begin their meal, and Samara had managed to engage Kejes in a conversation concerning the nature of their visit. Sky, Bloom and Brandon had spoken amongst each other.

"It's pretty nice here," Bloom commented. "I don't think two days here would be bad at all."

"I'd say so," Brandon agreed. "How about you Sky?"

"I like it here," Sky began after swallowing a piece of bread. "It's better than I thought it would be. But, I do look forward to getting back home soon." The rest of the banquet went through as planned, though it was a stiff, formal event. After the meal had finished, there was some live entertainment, courtesy of a group of travelling minstrels. The performers even invited Bloom and Sky on to the stage to help them with their show by showing them the steps to a traditional Litusian dance, while Brandon and Samara applauded from the audience. When the minstrels had finished with their show, they bowed and left the castle. By the time they had left, the sun had gone down, and two moons were visible from the dining hall windows.

Kejes had retired for the night, after having shown the guests the locations of their rooms, in a hallway on the second floor. Before going to sleep for the night, the four visitors had gathered together in a small recreational room near the bedrooms, which was filled with various games, books and comfortable furniture.

"So, what are the plans for tomorrow?" Sky asked his mother.

"We are going to go over some of the legislation of this realm, and make any changes where necessary. After that we were planning on visiting the capital city and meeting with the mayor," Samara explained.

"Sounds like it's gonna be a busy day," Brandon suggested. "It would probably be best for us to get some rest."

"Yeah, and it's been a long day too," Bloom said, before yawning softly. "I think I'll go to bed now. Good night everyone!" Bloom kissed Sky on the cheek before she went into her room.

"I think she has the right idea," Sky yawned. "I'm gonna turn in for the night. See you tomorrow."

"Have a good rest," Brandon said, patting Sky on the shoulder. "I'll stay up for a little bit to make sure everything's completely safe. That is my job after all." Sky caught a hint of sarcasm in his friend's last sentence and smirked.

"I expect you to follow through as such, Sir Brandon," Sky joked, his voice sounding overly serious and his chest puffed out. "I didn't knight you just so you could have a fancy title you know." Sky was having difficulty keeping a straight face. Brandon performed a mock salute, and walked off to the entry of the wing to do one final inspection. Sky looked around the recreational room, and noticed that his mother had quietly left to her own room as well.

With a sigh, Sky walked over to the door to his room, which was the master bedroom. When he opened it he decided to peer around the room for a while. It was roomy, with a high ceiling, a large bed, a walk-in closet, a dresser with several drawers and another door, which led to a bathroom. After he changed out of his formal uniform into some looser clothes, he went to brush his teeth in the bathroom.

In the still of the night, Sky had thought he heard a faint beeping noise coming from the bedroom. When he tried to concentrate on it, the noise had stopped. He simply shrugged, dismissed the noise and continued to brush his teeth. After he had finished, he returned to the bedroom, turned off the lights and lay down on the bed. The sheets felt very soft and smooth, even through the clothes he had worn. The mattress was firm, but not stiff, making it easy for Sky to relax on the bed.

When Sky shut his eyes, he could once again hear the sound of faint beeping. His tired state had dulled his senses, but he managed to open his eyes, vainly searching for the source of the annoyance. The beeping stopped, and he heard a hushed click. His eyes widened as he looked straight above himself as he saw a small bit of moonlight reflect off of a small metallic object moving towards him at an alarming rate. He had managed to slide over the side of the bed, managing to avoid what was approaching him a split second before it could reach him.

"Brandon!" Sky yelled out, breathing heavily. In seconds Bloom, Samara and Brandon had all entered Sky's room, the former two in their sleepwear. Bloom turned the lights on.

"What's wrong Sky?" Bloom asked, trembling slightly in fear.

"Something shot down at me from the ceiling!" Sky responded. "I barely avoided it." He brought the others to his bed, where they could see a small dart sticking out of the mattress. Brandon gritted his teeth and unsheathed his Phantoblade, before he jumped up, and cut out the chunk of ceiling where the dart could have possibly come from. He and Sky had managed to catch the piece of rock before it smashed into the bed below it. The two flipped the heavy ceiling stone upside down and slowly rested it on the floor.

"Look there, next to the light fixture," Brandon said, pointing his hand to a small hole in the rock. He carved out the piece of rock and underneath it there was a small metallic device that was beeping periodically. "This is what shot the dart at you. It's an assassin's trap." Brandon's clenched his fist tightly.

"A-are you alright son?" Samara stuttered, shocked that someone would try to kill her son in such a fashion.

"I'm fine. I was saved by my Red Fountain training," Sky explained, while hugging Samara. He was trying his best not to let his voice quaver, but he too was alarmed that he had been the target of a killer.

"I don't get it," Bloom muttered, wiping away a few tears in her eyes. "Who would want to do something like this?"

"There's not a lot to work with here," Brandon said, narrowing his eyes. "Either this trap was set up for the previous king, or it was someone who knew Sky was coming here." Brandon studied the metallic box after pulling it out of its nest in the rock. After prying the box open, he noticed a computer chip inside of the box with a code on it. "B, x, nine-eight-four-k-two... We should try calling Tecna or Timmy about this, to find out just how old this thing is." The other three in the room nodded. "Remember, we can't trust anyone in this realm now, as long as we don't know who's responsible for this."

"We can probably call Tecna right away," Bloom declared. "My phone says it's still afternoon in Magix."

"Call her," Brandon said. Bloom nodded and pressed a few buttons on her phone, before holding it up to her ear.

"Hi Tecna," Bloom began, "We're on Litus now. Me, Sky, Brandon and Queen Samara."

"Bloom... you sound worried, is something wrong?" Tecna asked.

"We have a problem, Brandon can tell you more about it," Bloom replied, as she handed her phone over to the brown-haired specialist. After he took the phone, Bloom began pacing back and forth.

"Hey Tecna," Brandon said flatly. "I was wondering if you could check up a computer chip code for us."

"Of course I can," Tecna responded. "But what's happening there?"

"I can't say. I can't risk someone listening in on this conversation."

"I understand. So, what is this code you need me to look up?"

"B, x, nine-eight-four-k-two."

"Alright, just give me a second... It's a control chip used mostly in the field of robotics. Used to enable an action provided the requirements are met... the version of the chip you have is the most recent, having been created a little less than two months ago."

"Thanks a lot Tecna."

"No problem." With that, Tecna ended the call on her end.

"Well," Brandon sighed, "this is the most recent version of the chip on the market. It's probably not from a previous assassination attempt. Whoever set this up, knew who they were after, and how to get to them."

"What should we do now?" Bloom whispered.

"We should lay low and get off of this planet as soon as possible," Brandon suggested. He looked over to see Sky glaring down at the dart that was sticking out of his bed. Sky reached down to the dart and violently pulled it out of the sheets.

"It's poisoned," Sky said softly. He moved his finger closer to the tip of the dart as if to touch it, but he pulled his finger back before he reached it.

"Do you think we can get a transport before the two days are over?" Brandon asked, facing Samara.

"We're not leaving," Sky interrupted before Samara could speak.

"What are you talking about man? Someone just tried to kill you! We have to get out of here!" Brandon exclaimed.

"I'm not going to send them the message that the king of Eraklyon is a coward," Sky said calmly.

"Staying here further isn't brave, it's stupid!" Brandon yelled, his face turning slightly pink.

"Think about what you're saying Sky," Bloom said softly, trying to ease the tension in the room. "This could be really dangerous."

"I've made up my mind. I'm not leaving until I find out who tried to kill me," Sky declared. "Now, we should try to figure out who's responsible for this."

"Could it possibly be Kejes?" Samara asked warily. "He did give Sky this specific room after all."

"It's a possibility," Brandon remarked. "But, I'm doubtful it was him, or any of the castle staff. It would have been easier to kill us during the banquet. He probably gave Sky the master bedroom because he's king. It's not a possibility we should rule out however."

"What about the travelling musicians?" Sky suggested.

"Yet another option," Brandon said while stroking his chin. "What confuses me is that whoever set this up likely knew that we were coming, yet they didn't try to do anything to Queen Samara. At least not yet."

"Could it possibly be a blood feud?" Samara proposed.

"It could be. Sky is the current king of Eraklyon, but he has no heir, making him a better target for a vendetta based attack." Brandon emphasized. "If someone could kill Sky... it would signal the end of House Eraklyon." Bloom shuddered at the thought.

"I don't think it's anyone we've met up to this point," said Bloom, staring down to the floor.

"What makes you say that?" Sky asked.

"I haven't sensed anything but kindness from anyone we've met so far," she responded. "It's not something most people can fake properly."

"We should stay wary just in case," Sky said in a tired voice. "Though it's really late now, and I don't know how we're gonna be able to handle all the work we have to do tomorrow."

"You should try to rest as much as you can," Brandon commented. "I'll stay up to make sure nothing else happens tonight."

"I'll help you by taking shifts," Bloom added. Brandon smiled at her and then at Sky. "We'll do the best we can tomorrow to find out as much as possible."

* * *

**"Author's" Notes:**

So, I was internally debating whether or not to get around to putting this (my first fanfic) up on the internet. In the end I said, why not?

Congratulations if you made it this far and actually read everything (it's pretty long for a first chapter). Anyway, most people who know me as a fan of Winx (that's pretty much no-one however) know that I don't really care for Sky as a character all that much in the series, but I chose him for this fic because... Well, he's royalty, and he doesn't use magic. I mostly wanted to try and at least attempt writing something that could conceivably fit into the canon of the series, and given how my writing tends to drift to stories of Conspiracy/Political fiction, he was really the only choice for a character that doesn't fight with magic.

Also: The site has Samera listed instead of Samara. Is that kind of like how Aisha is listed instead of Layla, in accordance with the original Italian names? I ask because I can't actually remember which name RAI uses. If someone could tell me I would really appreciate it!

Thank you for scrolling down this far, please leave your thoughts, comments and critiques in the reviews to help me improve! :)


	2. Chapter 2

The morning came quickly for the uneasy group of visitors, signaled by an intense blue light rising from the south. The morning sky was a silver-green hue, with several fluffy white clouds crowding the view. Brandon and Bloom spent the short night taking turns patrolling as the others stayed in the recreational room at the end of the wing. When Brandon made his final walk through the hall, he went back to the recreational room to find everyone was awake, sitting down around a chess table.

"Good morning Brandon," Bloom said while stifling a yawn.

"Morning everyone," Brandon said, sounding incredibly worn out. "We've got to make an important decision today. Do we tell everyone about the attempted assassination or not?" The room was silent with indecision.

"I think we should," Sky stood up. "If these people are as genuine as Bloom says they are, they'll be willing to help us."

"Sounds good to me," Brandon said. "At least now we don't have to try to cover up the reason there's a hole in the ceiling!" Everyone in the room laughed softly.

"Before we go about visiting the capital city we should make a global announcement," Sky said. "I'm sure this realm has a setup to let messages be broadcasted." The others nodded as they made their way out of the wing.

* * *

The visitors spoke to Kejes about the situation, as well as their plan to make a broadcast. The steward lead the four down to a small room located behind the throne, filled with different electronic equipment, and several monitors. The group had spent roughly an hour unpacking the gear they required to send out their message, as well as finishing their testing to make sure the devices were still working. Once they were ready to make the broadcast, Kejes sat them down in front of the largest panel in the small room.

"All you need to do is press the green button, speak into this microphone here, and the message will be repeated all across the planet," Kejes said. "It was routinely used for royal declarations, but we've not had a monarch for quite a few years. But, I'm sure it will still work." Sky thanked the man, and slipped on a headset before pressing the small green button which caused all of the different machinery around the room to spark to life.

"People of Litus," Sky began his broadcast, hearing the words repeated in a headset he had worn. "This is your king, Sky of House Eraklyon speaking. Just last night, there was an attempt to assassinate me, set in motion by an unknown agent. I am broadcasting to let that person know I have survived their poor attempt made against my life, and to issue a challenge to that person." Upon hearing Sky say those words, Bloom, Brandon and Samara had exchanged looks with one another, their faces showing signs of nervousness and deep concern. "Try it again. You won't be rid of me so easily. Try it until you have no choice but to reveal yourself, and then I'll be willing to accept any confrontation of yours." With that, Sky once again pressed the green button, and shut down the equipment in the room.

"Are you sure you thought this plan all the way through?" Brandon asked rhetorically.

"Do you think it was a good idea to challenge someone who tried to kill you like that?" Bloom's voice had a very fretful tone.

"I can't have the killer or the rest of the people think I'm a coward," Sky explained sternly. Bloom still had a concerned expression.

"Regardless, we've spent more than enough time in this room," Samara sighed. "I'd doubt we'd be able to propose any relevant changes to this realms legislature at this rate."

"We'll at least try to skim it over," Sky said, looking away from her.

* * *

The four had spent breakfast and several hours after sitting in the dining hall of the palace, gathered around several documents that they were studying intently.

"This realm has a strong connection with their ancient warrior culture," Bloom said while examining one of the papers in front of her.

"Yes, there is quite a bit in these texts on trials by combat," Samara began. "Old rules on different ways to end disputes based on combat, and how to initiate such a battle. The most important one is called 'mor'chor.' Apparently, it means death-dance in an ancient tongue." Samara had an uneasy look on her face.

"There's even a whole book about it," Brandon said, sliding a novel length book across the table to Sky, titled: 'The Code of Mor'Chor.'

"How can we go about changing these laws?" Sky asked, as picked up the book and quickly flipped through the pages, not bothering to reading any of them.

"I am not entirely sure how attached these people are to these laws," Samara responded, frowning slightly. "It could be as simple as gathering the municipal leaders and making edits. However, if these people are bonded to their traditions, it could prove quite difficult. Yesterday, Kejes told me the elder leaders are especially mindful of these old ways." She bit her lower lip. "The municipal leaders would have to agree to any changes we would make, and somehow I doubt they would do so."

"I see. Anyway, it's about time to go meet with the mayor of the capital city," Sky said, looking at a nearby clock. The others in the room nodded, and they all stood up. The group made their way out to the palace courtyard, and were greeted by Kejes, who was standing next to a transport adorned with the Litusian coat of arms.

"Are you able to meet with the mayor today your highness? I'm sure he would understand if you were to postpone the meeting," Kejes said.

"We'll be fine," Sky replied. "We're just a little shaken up is all."

"I understand. The capital city is not far from here, we should be able to arrive in less than ten minutes."

The five stepped up the ramp leading to the side of the ship and promptly took their seats when inside. Shortly thereafter, the ship lifted from the ground and began the journey to the capital city. Bloom and Sky had spent the trip looking outside of the window they had sat next to, pointing out all the different landmarks and points of interest, including a coliseum, as well as several large statues of different individuals.

"Why are there so many statues of people in this realm?" Bloom asked curiously.

"Well you see my dear, those statues are the way the people honour their war-heroes," Kejes answered. "Litus has a very storied history when it comes to the many conflicts this world has seen. Each statue represents a single hero who performed an action that turned the tide of a battle they had participated in. Why, there's even a statue of the old King Erendor."

"You never told me father had a statue on this planet," Sky said to his mother.

"It is not something you'd want to remind him about," Samara chuckled. "You would never hear the end of it."

"Is the coliseum still in use?" Bloom asked.

"Yes it is," Kejes began. "While it was previously used for dangerous gladiatorial combat, it is mostly used for entertaining non-lethal battles now."

"We have something like it back on Earth," Bloom commented.

"It seems we're close to the capital city of Sacro," Kejes announced. The four visitors looked out of the windows and down upon the city. It was a walled city, and Bloom noted that it was about as large as Gardenia. The city had many grand towers and temples made of a pearly white stone. The shuttle was landing in the walled-off grassy centre of the city, next to the largest building.

"Is that the city hall?" Sky asked.

"Yes, and that is where you shall meet with the mayor." Kejes said. Upon the vessel landing, Bloom, Sky, Brandon and Samara had all stood up from their seats, while Kejes had remained seated.

"You're not coming with us?"

"I'm afraid I cannot your highness, I've still work to do back in the palace, waiting for any leads on the investigation as to the identity of the assassin." Kejes answered with a somber smile.

"I understand," Sky assured. "Thanks for all your help." With that, the group of visitors exited the ship and watched as it flew back to the royal palace.

* * *

The meeting with the mayor of Sacro had passed without incident, but it was a rather dry affair. Samara had handled most of the negotiations, while Sky and Bloom had only involved themselves when there was a need for a second opinion. Brandon had devoted his time to helping the city guards with keeping the area secure from attack, occasionally goofing off by accepting a sparring offer. By the end of the meeting, not much had been accomplished in terms of working towards any legislative changes for Litus, as the mayor was adamant about upholding the ancient traditions. When the group had reunited with Brandon in front of the city hall, it had been midafternoon.

The visitors called Kejes to say they were finished, and had made their way back to the walled-in grassy area where they were dropped off, waiting for their transport back to the palace to arrive.

"I didn't think that meeting would take so long," Sky complained.

"That was pretty grueling," Bloom agreed, sounding tired.

"Hardly," Samara objected. Sky and Bloom had stunned looks on their faces. "You haven't seen anything yet. Twenty-hour debates, political squabbling..." Samara smiled at the looks on their faces. "It's just something you'll have to get used to. The two were still locked in disbelief.

"The carefree life of a monarch," Brandon joked. He took a seat on a nearby bench, under the shade of a tree. "I guess Kejes be here in a few minutes."

"So," Sky said, facing Brandon, "what were you doing while–"

"Move!" Samara yelled, as she pulled by his right arm Sky towards her. Sky turned from his neck to look at her direction in confusion, an instant before feeling a sharp pain in his upper left arm. An arrow had cut through his uniform and grazed him, drawing a bit of blood. He groaned aloud, and began to move his right arm to hold the wound as his body went numb. Feeling greatly weakened, he collapsed. Bloom and Samara fell to their knees next to him. Brandon picked up the arrow lying nearby.

"Sky? Sky!" Bloom cried out as she began desperately shaking Sky, trying to get him to move. "Wake up Sky!" Tears began forming in her eyes. The only thing Sky could do was moan unintelligibly, coughing up spittle occasionally.

"Poison!" Brandon exclaimed angrily, having examined the arrow. He violently threw the arrow down to the grass. He turned his head in the direction the arrow came from, to see a dark blue robed, hooded figure drop a longbow, jump down from the wall and begin running away. "Get some help, I'm going after them!" Bloom nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes, as Brandon ran out of the walled area. As he ran, he motioned for a few of the city's guards to follow him in pursuit.

The hooded figure seemed to possess an extensive knowledge of the city layout, as it maneuvered its way through the crowded market square, and into a back alleyway. However, Brandon and three of the guards kept their focus on the killer, though the other guards were lost in the gaggle. The assassin climbed up a ladder in one of the alleyways and onto the roof of a building. As Brandon and the guards began to climb the ladder, the hooded killer reappeared above the ladder and threw a knife down.

"Look out!" Brandon yelled out. Brandon gripped tightly to the right side of the ladder, let go of the left, and pushed himself away from the wall. The knife missed him, but pierced into the soft flesh of the guard below, between his shoulder and neck, and he fell dead on top of the two guards who were below him. Brandon cursed under his breath, and looked back up from the corpse, to the killer above to see it throw another knife down, aimed at his right arm. Brandon growled and jumped from the ladder and barely caught hold of a window sill on the other side of the alleyway. When he looked back up, he noticed the assassin was gone. The remaining two guards were nearing the top of the ladder, and Brandon jumped back across to follow them up. When the three reached the roof top, they saw the assassin had ran to the top of a different nearby building.

"You're not getting away," Brandon muttered, and he ran towards the hooded murderer in a short burst of incredible speed. Although The momentary speed burst was not enough to catch the running figure, Brandon knew he was close enough to stop it from getting further. He drew his double-bladed phantoblade and immediately threw it. The blade cut the fleeing figure in the left leg, crippling it, and it fell holding its bleeding wound. Brandon retrieved his blade, ran over to the killer, and pulled their hood down. Underneath was a teenage girl with pale skin, and short blonde hair. Brandon momentarily hesitated because of her young appearance, as she took out a short-sword to try and stab him, but Brandon merely knocked it out of her hands with a few strikes of his own sword. The girl had a scared look on her face as she tried to back away from Brandon without moving her left leg, which had been spilling out blood in a trail on the roof. As he moved closer to her, she began to cry softly. "Alright, start talking," Brandon said harshly. "Who are you, and why are you trying to kill Sky?!" Brandon pointed his phantoblade's tip in her direction, before drawing it back. "If you help us, we'll be able to help you with that leg." His tone had become much lighter.

"I'm not telling you a damn thing," the girl said shakily between sobs, right before she bit down hard, and then swallowed. Brandon looked at her in confusion, but then his face shifted to anger when he realized what she had done. She had taken a suicide pill. She choked violently for a few seconds before her body fell slack. He picked up the body, and moved over to the two guards. He handed the corpse over to one of them, hanging his head.

"I need to go back and check on the king," Brandon said solemnly. The guards nodded in understanding.

"We'll do a check to find out who she is," one of the guards said. Brandon nodded at the guard, before he began his rush back to the city hall, ignoring the burning fatigue in his legs.

* * *

**"Author's" Notes:**

I'm doubtful that any chapters will reach the length of the first one from here on out.

So, those of you who made it this far, you probably noticed that I changed the way the Specialists move around, letting them become significantly faster for a short period of time. I drew a lot of inspiration from lots of different shonen anime/manga where the characters fight so quickly they can't be seen. Mostly a selfish change because it makes the action more fun to write.

I know real pills don't usually work that fast, but it needed to for the sake of dramatic convenience. It's magic. That explains it.

Also, a big thank you very much to everyone who left me a review for the first chapter! The feedback is greatly appreciated.

Please do leave your thoughts, comments and criticisms in the reviews so I can improve! :)


	3. Chapter 3

This chapter took significantly longer to come out than the last one; sorry about that!

A big thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story so far! The feedback is greatly appreciated!

* * *

When Brandon had finally reached the city hall, he was informed by a guard that Sky had already been taken to a nearby hospital. By this point, Brandon's legs had become too tired to hold his body upright, let alone run. Nonetheless, he managed to reach the hospital, and met with Kejes in the lobby, who led him to Sky's room. Inside, Bloom and Samara had sat on both sides of Sky, who was lying down on a bed, with a bandage wrapped around his arm, and a band clamped tightly around his shoulder.

"Hey Brandon," Sky said weakly. He tried to sit up, but found it too tiring.

"Hey man," Brandon said, approaching the bed. "Don't try to talk, just rest for now." Sky laid his head back and shut his eyes. "He seems to be doing okay."

"The doctors were able to administer an antidote shortly after we arrived... He'll be fine." Samara explained. She was relieved that her son would be well, but at the same time, distraught that she had been so close to losing him. Throughout the past few days, the queen had worked hard to maintain her royal disposition. However, with events becoming more and more tense, she felt herself slipping closer and closer to the edge, ready to fall over, and break.

"It's a good thing you left the arrow behind," Bloom started, "because if you hadn't, we wouldn't have been able to get the right treatment."

"That's good," Brandon said warmly. He sat down on a small chair next to Bloom, and began to massage his tired calves.

"Were you able to catch the person who shot the arrow?" Bloom quietly asked, keeping her focus on Sky as she lightly rubbed his unharmed shoulder.

"We caught her..." Brandon gulped, looked over at Bloom and paused, frowning slightly. "But she killed herself."

"I see." Bloom and Samara hung their heads slightly, and an uncomfortable silence filled the small hospital room. After several uncomfortable minutes of foot tapping and finger drumming, Brandon stood up.

"Did the doctors mention how long it would take for Sky to get better?" Brandon asked.

"They said it would only take a few hours," Samara said. "The doctor told us most of the poison that did make it into his bloodstream was soporific. Much of the lethal poison remained on the arrow. He will be out sometime tomorrow."

Brandon merely nodded. There was nothing else to do but wait.

* * *

Sky was released from the hospital during the late afternoon of the next day, and returned to the palace along with Bloom, Brandon and his mother. He did not hide his fury over the nearly successful assassination attempt, but at the same time he could not help but feel that his challenge had prompted the bold attack in the first place.

The sun was setting, but Sky had kept pacing in the throne room, back and forth, in front of the other visitors who sat on a bench pondering over the identity of the girl who shot the arrow at him. Brandon told everyone that she had killed herself to avoid capture. Sky knew she was working for someone, she had to be. The question was... who? She refused to tell Brandon anything. Would she have taken her own life if she had no one to hide?_  
_

Bloom let out a ragged sigh. She had felt apprehensive at all times, and she scanned every visible spot in the throne room, over and over again. The trip was beginning to take its toll on her. She had been the only person who had been really optimistic about a trip to a planet covered in beaches. She was hoping that she would have been able to visit a few of them with Sky, and maybe do some sightseeing. Instead, she was caught up in an assassination conspiracy. Now she had shared the same sentiment that Sky had at the beginning of their trip. She wanted to return to her home. Although, it seemed the more she had wanted to leave, the more Sky was determined to stay.

"This whole Realm knew we were coming," Brandon said testily. "How are we gonna narrow it down to one person?"

"Whoever is leading this operation, we know they have connections to someone who knows the Palace layout," Samara said sagely. "They would not have been able to set up the dart trap otherwise." Sky nodded at his mother's inference. Sky moved to go sit on the bench, but he was interrupted by an unfamiliar voice.

"Your majesty, we have new information on the identity of the woman who attacked you in Sacro," said a tall, elegantly dressed man.

"Well, let's hear it," Sky responded. Brandon stood up and walked over to Sky.

"Who was she?" Brandon asked intently.

"Her name was Mirari Olia," the man responded. Sky and Brandon looked at each other and shrugged, almost as if both of them had expected the other to know who she was. The two of them looked over to Bloom and Samara, and they shrugged as well.

"Is there any other information on her?" Sky asked quietly.

"Nothing else on file about her," the man said, shaking his head.

"Thanks anyway," Brandon said patting the man on the shoulder. The man nodded before leaving. "Still no leads though..." Brandon did not try to hide the disappointment in his voice.

"Actually, the name is one I recognize," said a less unfamiliar voice, coming from the dining hall entrance. Sky jumped slightly when he heard the voice.

"Kejes!" Sky exclaimed. "I didn't know you were there." The stringy man chuckled as he approached the group.

"Mirari Olia was a nobleman's daughter, and the best friend of the Princess of Litus from many years ago. They would both get in to all sorts of trouble around here." The steward smiled at the thought of happier times. "The two of them played hide-and-seek all of the time. It could explain the assassin's strong knowledge of the palace layout."

"That makes sense," Sky said. "Thanks for the insight." Kejes nodded and returned to the dining hall_. _The group became quiet for several minutes, unsure of what they would do next.

"Well I guess we finally have a—" Bloom was suddenly interrupted by a deafening explosion. The four rushed outside, through the courtyard, and beyond the palace walls to see a burning vessel, and a singed body; what they could only be assume to be the remains of the messenger. The ground below the ship had been scorched black. The group looked on in horror, wondering if there would be another attack. They began to make their way inside the palace as several guards covered entirely in armour arrived on the scene. The guards readied their spears. Sky tried motioning at them to stand down.

"These aren't real guards," Bloom asserted as her eyes widened. "They're... not even living."

Sky noticed the guards seemed to be prepared to fight, and readied his phantoblade and phantoshield. Brandon drew his great sword and took on a fighting stance. Immediately, the guards charged at the four visitors. Sky had moved behind one guard faster than eyes could follow. He slammed his shield against the guard, causing it to stumble forward, following through with a swing from his blade, cutting right through the guard's torso. When the guard's armour fell to the ground a black mist spilled out of the gap, until the suit was empty. Brandon had managed to decapitate one of the guards, and it had fallen similarly.

"What are these things?" Sky asked, as he dodged a thrust from a guard.

"They're powered by dark magic!" Bloom exclaimed.

"Automatons," Samara added, as she felt a chill go down her spine. She would not let anything happen to Sky. Not again.

Sky had managed to hack through several more guards. A few had come close to actually hitting him, but his quick movement and shield had allowed him to avoid harm. Brandon's own feints had tricked several guards into blocking attacks that never came, while leaving them wide open for cleaves that did. Bloom had transformed into her Enchantix form and had set fire to several of the animated suits of armour, burning them until they charred. Though, for every guard that fell, more still replaced them.

"This isn't working out too well," Sky said. Keeping up his quick footwork was taking a lot out of him. His legs were beginning to feel numb, and his arms were getting weak from the constant motions of his blade swings and shield slams. Brandon was becoming equally tired; with every swing, his arms had felt heavier. His blows had become a bit more sluggish, and his feints less deceptive. Bloom was growing tired of trying to pick off the enemies one by one, and it was from this exhaustion that she drew inspiration for her next attack.

"Stand back!" Bloom yelled out in an authoritative voice. The two specialists pulled back until they stood behind her—under the gate of the castle's outer walls—along with Samara. Bloom moved her hands in front of her chest and conjured a sphere of dancing flame in her hands, her hair flying around as if she was in the path of a tornado. She looked forward as the horde of guards began to charge at her. She swiftly brought the ball of fire up in front of her face, and breathed into it, spraying forth a fan of scorching flames, that completely obliterated the entire mob in front of her; melting armour and stone—even turning some of the soil into glass. After she had finished, Bloom took a deep breath in and exhaled. She turned around to smile at Sky. "Not bad huh?"

"Not bad at all!" Sky exclaimed. He moved forward towards her, but was interrupted by his mother.

"Sky, look out!" Samara cried out, prompting Sky to duck down, right as she shot out an arrow of magic that whizzed over his head. The spell managed to pierce through the chest of one final assailant in guard's armour who was hiding behind the vessel wreckage, in the middle casting a spell. The attacker was stopped mid chant and fell to the ground with the grace of a rock, clutching at the hole in its chest. The four moved over to the suit of armour and removed its helmet, revealing a woman with long brown hair and pale skin underneath. There was a trail of blood running down her chin from her mouth. Brandon noticed she was roughly the same age as the other assassin, Mirari, and he let out a heavy sigh.

"Who is she?" Sky asked, not really expecting an answer. The woman looked up at him.

"My brother will kill you," she wheezed, before she spat in his direction and fell limp. Sky could only stare down at the corpse on the ground, as he ran his hands through his hair. Samara let out a sigh, her hands were trembling. Bloom had changed back into her normal form, and hugged her arms.

"After this, we'd better have a good lead now," Brandon said, sheathing his phantoblade. He walked over to an empty helmet, growled angrily, and kicked it, sending it flying several yards away. Seeing two young girls die in two days had upset him._  
_

"Call Kejes," Sky said flatly. "He might know something about who she is."

* * *

**"Author's" Notes:**

When I posted the first chapter of this story, the whole thing was actually finished. I made some changes to the second chapter (to make the story hold on to some mystery for a little longer) which caused a whole cascade of changes for every chapter after it, like knocking over one domino in the middle of a chain by accident, then having to set up all of the pieces after it back up again. This chapter is the one which required the most changes (almost none of the original chapter is still here), so other chapters should be up with less delay than this one.

There is a lot of character introspection in this chapter, mostly here to show how the characters are reacting to constant stress. There won't be as much in future chapters.

On another note, I have no idea if Samara has special powers at all. So I said "screw it" and gave her some.

Thank you very much for reading! Please leave your thoughts, comments and criticisms in the reviews so I can improve! :D


	4. Chapter 4

**Preface:** Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story so far! Sorry this part took so long too, this story is turning me into a liar.

* * *

"This woman..." Kejes began. "I never thought I'd see her again. She was the daughter of the previous king of Litus. Princess Earana." Sky gave the man a curious look; one of his eyebrows was raised. It had become plainly obvious that the old royal family was involved, and Sky wanted to finally hear the whole story. Kejes sighed. "The old royal family had been ordered into exile by a group of revolutionaries, who were empowered by the royal House Eraklyon. It's the reason your kingdom is so beloved here, and why your father has a statue. The people offered the empty throne to your father. He accepted, and the planet Litus is now part of House Eraklyon's empire. But, before any of that happened, the revolutionaries confronted the Litusian monarchs, and killed them. Their children survived, but I do not know where they went.

"Okay," Sky murmured. "But right before this princess died, she threatened that her brother would kill me. Who is he?"

"I see," Kejes said with a hint of surprise. "Her brother is the ex-Prince Luri, and he was about nine years old when the revolution took place. He was always a dangerous child." The thin man gulped. "During the revolution, he managed to kill three of the rioters with his knife. Those three had killed his parents."

"Even if he has had some training, I'm not backing down," Sky said proudly. "I think I'd be able to hold my own against this guy. I was one of the top students at Red Fountain."

"Such modesty," Brandon joked, rolling his eyes. "At least you still remember that me and Riven could beat you a few times." He lightly punched Sky in the chest, and Sky stumbled back over-dramatically. The two of them burst into laughter.

"So this really is a blood feud then," Samara said sadly, ignoring the antics of Brandon and her son.

"Are you really gonna challenge this guy again Sky?" Bloom asked, hoping she wouldn't hear the answer she knew was coming.

"I have to," Sky said. "No one attacks my friends and family unprovoked, and gets away with it."

"Of course." Bloom pouted slightly.

"I've got to make another global announcement."

* * *

Sky sat down in the broadcasting room, and pressed the green button on the control panel, lighting all of the equipment in the room.

"People of Litus, this is King Sky, broadcasting to give you the message that I have survived further assassination attempts. Now, I know who was behind it, and I am here to say that the attempt made by the ex-Princess Earana has failed. Now, I challenge the Prince Luri to come forth to challenge me in the open for the sake of his honour." With that, Sky pressed the green button once more and cut off his broadcast. His companions looked at him with faces of complete disbelief.

"You do remember they've nearly killed you three times now right?" Brandon asked rhetorically.

"I can't back down now." Sky responded. Brandon threw his hands up in the air.

"We should try to get some sleep tonight," Bloom said softly.

* * *

A restless night passed for the visitors, leading them into the first extra day of their stay on Litus. The group had spent the uneventful night all together in the recreational room of the palace, playing card games and chess.

"Checkmate," Samara said, sounding unexcited.

"You win..." Sky said with a hint of exasperation in his voice. "Again."

"twenty-seven wins and zero losses is really good," Bloom said, before she put down a quartet of jack cards on the table in front of her.

"Chess is a game for people who can be _patient_ and make _responsible_ choices under pressure," Samara chuckled. Sky gave her a hurt look. "It comes with age and experience."

"Got any... fours?" Brandon asked, sounding unsure of what he was saying.

"Go fish," Bloom replied.

"This game makes no sense," Brandon said, as he picked up a card from the deck.

"Is this really all we're going to do today?" Sky asked, sounding tired.

"If you want to," Samara answered, "though we did receive an invitation to the coliseum." She held up an envelope in her right hand.

"That sounds exciting!" Bloom exclaimed as she put down the last four cards in her hand. "But, It might be dangerous for us to leave the palace."

"Especially since our charismatic leader here decided to call out our enemies again," Brandon said, glaring at Sky as the king placed his face in his palm.

"We should go!" Sky said warmly. He looked at the concerned faces of the others in the room. "We shouldn't send the message that we don't have the bite to back up our bark. And do you really want to spend the entire day in here?" The rest of the group looked around at each other, before they agreed to go to the coliseum.

* * *

The coliseum was a massive structure carved out of a grey stone. From far away, it would seem separate from the land it rested upon, but up close, the visitors were able to see that the coliseum was part of the island itself. The royal guests were welcomed with a surprising lack of fanfare, as if they had been unexpected. Nonetheless, the visitor's tickets were for seats next to the sand and dirt filled arena, roughly 12 feet high off of the ground. Upon being seated, Bloom opened a pamphlet she had been given upon entry which had turned out to be the programme for the show.

"It says here that today is the gryphon show," Bloom said as she showed the others the pamphlet.

"Hmm," Brandon said, studying the pamphlet. "Looks a lot like the dragon show that we trained for."

"Pretty much," Sky added. "I guess we won't be asking how these guys pull it off afterwards."

"It might still be interesting," Bloom said. "Oh, it's starting!" Lights set up around the coliseum turned on, and pointed down to an announcer standing in the middle of the arena.

"Welcome one and all, to the gryphon show!" the announcer exclaimed, as the patrons began to applaud and cheer. "Today, we are also graced by the presence of his royal highness, King Sky of Eraklyon!" The announcer gestured towards the seats that the royal visitors were sitting in, and the lights followed. The four visitors waved at the audience, who began to cheer even louder. "Now, without further ado, here are your gryphonmasters!" Three men and one woman stepped out of a gate in the side of the arena and waved to the audience. "First up is Rosib Bladerender! The current coliseum champion!" The burliest man in the group with short hair and a bushy beard stepped forward, and roared at the audience.

"He reminds me of Codatorta," Brandon whispered to Sky, making Sky laugh quietly.

"I see what you mean," Sky responded.

"Next up!" the announcer enthusiastically exclaimed, "Arena Starlin! Famous since her birth in this very coliseum!" The woman stepped forward, only slightly shorter than Rosib. She had warpaint streaked across her face and her hair was braided. She raised her fist in the air, and let out a warcry which was echoed by the audience.

"Not as threatening as Stella in the morning," Bloom joked, prompting a laugh from Sky and Brandon.

"Here's Razel the Unwavering!" the announcer yelled.

A man with long red hair reaching down to his knees stepped forward and yelled out a loud "Oh yeah!" at the crowd.

"He's got longer hair than Helia!" Sky said in shock.

"Last but not least," the announcer began, "Itum the Shadowstepper!" A man in a loose, all black battle uniform and wearing a mask and hood came forth, and waved dismissively at the audience. "Now, let the gryphon show begin!" The four stepped into the centre of the arena, and four gates opened on opposite ends of the stadium. Gryphons stepped out of three of the gates, and were being psychically controlled by Rosib, Arena, and Razel. No gryphon appeared for Itum.

"Where is your beast Shadowman?" Rosib asked smugly.

"He'll be here, don't you worry," Itum answered coolly. "Look, he's right there." Itum pointed up into the sky, where a brown gryphon was flying in.

"Your gryphon isn't wing clipped?" Arena asked him. "That's against the rules!"

"That limits his freedom," Itum responded. "As fun as it would be to just beat you, I've got other priorities." He threw a flask to the ground, which shattered upon impact, releasing a gas cloud into the air, that knocked the other three participants out cold. The gryphons they had been controlling fell over unconscious as well.

"Challenger Itum?! What are you doing?" the announcer cried. Itum ignored the announcer, and turned his palm to the audience, commanding his gryphon to attack. The beast swooped down upon the hapless crowd, baring it's talons, clawing at the people who were cowering in fear. The royal guests were barely able to keep up with the gryphon's spontaneous movement, as it flew towards them. The group ducked down to avoid the attack, but the gryphon aimed itself at Sky, and knocked him into the arena with its claws.

"Sky!" Bloom cried worriedly. She prepared to jump down into the arena, but was interrupted.

"G-Go any further, and I'll kill her," The voice sounded unnaturally deep, as if it had been filtered through a voice changer. Brandon and Bloom turned around to see a person wearing the same clothing as Itum, shakily holding a knife to Samara's neck, cupping their other hand over her mouth. "I-It w-would be a shame to have to kill her too. Now sit back down!" The voice was very diffident, despite how deep it was. Bloom and Brandon hesitantly took their seats, their faces contorted in contempt. Brandon gritted his teeth. All they could do was wait for a moment of weakness to counterattack, and pray Sky would be alright.

Sky carefully stood up, feeling sore and stiff all over. He shook his head and turned around to see the gryphon coming in closer, and drew out his phantoblade and phantoshield, having brought them with him to avoid taking any chances. His decision had just paid off.

Sky crouched slightly as the gryphon slammed its right talon into his shield. He attempted a riposte with his shield, bashing it against the monster's talon. The creature cried out in pain as it flapped its wings, pushing Sky on to his back on the ground, sending sand into the air. The gryphon swiftly swung its other talon on to Sky, only for the man to slide out of the way the claw. The gryphon's talon smashed into the ground, nails digging into the surface. Sky used his foot to kick sand up at the gryphon, forcing it to shut its eyes tightly.

The beast heard a rhythmic buzzing slightly to the right of itself and turned its head in the sound's direction. There it saw Sky hitting the surface of his shield with the flat side of his phantoblade. Enraged, the monster clumsily swung its talon in Sky's direction only for the man to roll to the gryphon's left. Sky gave the gryphon a smug grin as it lunged toward him. He deftly flipped over the creature's body and cut it down its back. As the gryphon slumped over, it let out an earsplitting cry, and Itum let out a yell of pain as well.

The person holding on to Samara let out a gasp as Itum screamed out, and the group took it as their chance to act. Samara elbowed her captor in the chest, as Brandon quickly drew his double bladed phantosword and cut the knife the person held by the hilt, before he tackling them to the ground. When he took off the mask, underneath he saw another young woman, this one with medium-length platinum blonde hair.

"Please don't hurt me!" She exclaimed. "He made me do it!"

"Another girl?! Who are you?!" Brandon loudly asked. The girl whimpered. "Who are you?"

"I-I'm Ivora... I'm Luri's fiancée." She turned her face away from Brandon in fear, and shut her eyes tightly.

"I can't take chances, so you're coming with us," Brandon said. He looked over at Bloom and nodded. Bloom jumped over the side of the arena, and Brandon followed, carrying Ivora with him. Samara stood over the edge of the arena, readying herself to attack from a vantage point if needed. Itum made his way over to Sky and took his own mask off. He revealed himself to be a man with short brown hair.

"I accept your challenge, _king,_" the man said, his voice conveying disgust when he spoke of Sky's royal title.

"Are you Luri then?" Sky asked facing the exit. From where he was looking a man with short brown hair wearing all black stepped forth.

"Of course," the man replied.

"Why is it you want to kill Sky?" Bloom asked the man.

"Because of what his bloodline took from mine," Luri answered. "And now here I am, in the open." He drew a dagger from his belt in his right hand and pointed it at Sky. "Let's see where this goes shall we?"

"Don't do it Luri," Ivora begged. "It's not worth it!"

Luri ignored his fiancée and lunged towards Sky at an inhuman speed, aiming his blade at Sky's neck. Sky had managed to dodge the blow, and was about to retaliate, when he saw the coliseum's guards charge Luri. Samara had wanted to attack as well, but the guards had been too close to fire safely.

"You're going to make them fight for you King?" Luri sneered. The man turned the dagger in his hand around to hold it in a reverse grip.

One guard tried to impale the ex-prince on his spear, only for Luri to disappear from his view. While the guard was looking around in confusion, the prince stabbed the guard in the back of his neck, twisted his knife, and pulled it out, killing the guard. The other guards surrounded Luri and charged at him all at once. Luri picked up the spear of the dead guard in his left hand, and quickly swung it at the guards in front of him, cutting open the neck of one, killing him, and making the other jump back to avoid the blow. Luri back flipped over the guards approaching him from behind, and jabbed the spear into one of them in mid-jump. When the other turned around to face him, Luri had already thrown the spear into his chest, killing him as well.

"Care to join in the battle friends?" Luri taunted, but panting heavily. Sky had been reading the man's movements. If he fought Luri in this tired state, the king would be guaranteed to win. By this point, Brandon had drawn his blade and Bloom had transformed into her fairy form. "This is what I do for the old royal family. Eraklyon tried to destroy us; I'm merely returning the favour," Luri said bitterly, before he spat on the ground.

"That's not the only reason!" Ivora cried out.

"Ivora!" Luri snapped.

"You were paid!"

"Hold on, paid by who?" Sky asked.

"A man from Eraklyon told us about you. His name was... Ohh it started with a 'Y'... Yoshinoya!" Ivora exclaimed. Sky's blood froze, and his mind had drifted off to previous encounters with the man. How he had his parents constantly worry for his safety because of Yoshinoya. Even when he became older. He had to switch identities with Brandon because of Yoshinoya. He had to lie to his friends because of Yoshinoya. He had to lie to Bloom because of Yoshinoya. Bloom noticed the enraged expression on Sky's face as well as his clenched fists by his side, and put her hand on his shoulder to try and comfort him.

"We're not letting you near Sky," Brandon said.

"You can't beat the three of us alone," Bloom asserted.

"Probably couldn't beat one of us alone in his tired state," Brandon said.

"I won't stand down," Luri said defiantly.

"Yoshinoya," Sky whispered. He looked into the eyes of his enemy, and there he saw determination and fear. The man knew he would fail, but he went on regardless. He would be beaten here, and it would do nothing to Yoshinoya. He needed to be drawn out like the rat he was. At the moment he could think of one way to do so. "Luri, I invoke the mor'chor law of this realm against you!" Luri had stepped back in surprise, but grinned at Sky after. "Winner of the trial takes the throne of Litus, as well as Eraklyon!"

"What are you doing?!" Bloom scolded. She moved in front of him to look him in his eyes. Sky looked down, as he had no answer for her.

"I don't believe it," Ivora said softly. Brandon squeezed the bridge of his nose. Samara had heard everything from where she was and cupped her face in her hands.

"Please don't do this Sky," Bloom pleaded.

"I've already issued the challenge," Sky softly said. "I can't turn back now."

"I find it interesting you would make a request in such an advantageous situation. The advantage you had was the one thing stopping me from invoking the law instead," Luri said.

"I have my own honour," Sky grinned. Luri nodded to the man. "But since I proposed the challenge, I get to set a condition."

"What would that be?" Luri asked incredulously.

"Bring Yoshinoya to the fight. If you can't then don't come at all." Luri stood silent, pondering the situation.

"Fine. I'll kill you and end your bloodline."

"Not if I don't let you."

* * *

**"Author's" Notes:**

Getting closer to an actual climax here! I don't want to draw this out for too much longer.

This took waaay longer to come out than I wanted it to (didn't take long to write as much as proofread - this chapter has gone through about nine drafts, and I haven't been 100% satisfied with any of them; even this one). Oh well. I hope you all liked it though!

You've probably realized this by now, but a main theme of this story is Sky making constant bad decisions and paying the consequences for them. This stems from my aggravation with the actual series where he makes bad choices and almost **never** suffers because of it. Most notably that whole Diaspro - Bloom triangle mess.

I never really intended for the group to actually visit the coliseum that was mentioned in chapter 2, but it was mentioned and I didn't want for it to be completely useless. Also the mor'chor law is invoked, but I'm willing to bet most people could see that coming.

Thank you for reading this story! Please leave your thoughts, comments, and criticisms in the reviews so I can improve! :D


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you so much for the reviews and for being so patient! Sorry I took so long to update, I've been bogged down for the past few weeks.  
**

* * *

"We'll fight tomorrow," Luri said, sheathing his dagger. "Tradition dictates we fight when the sun is at the height of its arc, at noon."

"Sounds fine to me," Sky replied. "Just make sure you remember what I told you to do."

Luri turned to leave the arena, and Ivora followed him. He had been left alone by the remaining guards, to honour the agreement he made with the king. Instead the guards were trying to wake the gladiators who had passed out, and carried out the bodies of the dead guards. After Luri and Ivora were absent from the premises, the visitors began to contemplate what they would soon endure. The audience in the arena had been dead silent, many people began to quietly leave the coliseum. Samara had decided not to take the offensive with her magic, wanting to try trusting in her son's judgement. If he was to be king, he would need to be capable of following through on the decisions that he made. She hopped down from the side of the arena to meet up with the three who were below.

"Yoshinoya..." Sky mumbled. He frowned as he recalled further dealings with the dishonourable man. When he was summoned to Eraklyon and discovered Diaspro had been kidnapped, Yoshinoya demanded an unreasonable sum of money for her safety. Even then, Diaspro's safety was not a sure thing. It only became sure after she had been rescued... the hard way. He had terrorized for long enough. It was time to bring him down. Every past crime he had committed up to this moment, it had been leading up to this. Now was the time for him to pay.

"You think it's possible that Yoshinoya might try something with his techno-ninjas?" Brandon asked.

"I don't know," Sky responded. "But we'll have to keep our guard up just in case he does."

"There's a chance that he doesn't have access to them," Bloom remarked. "He probably would have tried using them against us by now."

"That's true, but I don't want to be surprised if he does try anything at this point," Sky said.

"What now?" Brandon asked.

"I guess all we can do is go back to the palace," Sky said bluntly. "Call someone to pick us up."

* * *

The transport to pick up the tired travelers arrived shortly after Luri's departure. The trip back to the castle was quiet, every one of the visitors lost in thought and introspection. All of them acting as if they had wanted to forget what had just happened to them. Up until Kejes broke the silence.

"What happened at the arena?" the steward asked.

"I challenged Luri through the mor'chor law." Sky explained. Kejes nodded somberly.

"If I may be so bold as to ask... Do you know the full convention behind the mor'chor law your highness?" Kejes asked politely. Sky paused for several seconds before he could answer.

"...Not really. But, I remember hearing that it's form of trial by combat," Sky said. "I never got around to reading the book Brandon gave me about it."

"None of us read it," Brandon added.

"Well then, I'll explain it a bit. It's a very ritualistic battle," Kejes began. "The most important type of trial by combat on this realm. You see, it's a fight..." The man hesitated and looked at the faces of the others on the transport before continuing. " A fight to the death wherein two square off in what we call a ring of watchers, who act as witnesses to the trial. Both combatants are armed with daggers made of steel. No phantoblades or armour here. The battle cannot be interrupted unless the fighting parties mutually agree to it. This is the way it has been for several millennia." Once again, there was a heavy silence, which lasted several seconds before being broken once again.

"You said before that Luri had killed three assassins with a knife when he was a kid right?" Brandon inquired.

"That's right," Kejes affirmed.

"So it's safe to bet that he's been trained specifically for this fight," Bloom suggested. She looked over to Sky, and saw a completely flat expression on his face.

"That is precisely what his parents trained him in the way of the dagger for," Kejes said quietly.

"I do hope you know what you're doing son," Samara said quietly.

"So do I," Bloom added. Sky looked at the faces of the others on the transport before hanging his head.

* * *

None of the visitors had really spoken to each other after they had arrived back at the palace. They had all tried to busy themselves with other work, but in the end, they were all unable to keep their minds off of the coming battle that Sky had arranged. Bloom had spent most of her time aimlessly wandering the palace grounds, searching for something to ease her weary mind. She came upon a small forest of palm trees behind the palace, trying to find a place where should relax by herself. To her surprise, she found Sky there as well, though he had not seen her. She hid behind one of the trees so she could see what he was doing without disturbing him. Sky raised his right hand into the air, and in his hand he had a dagger, tightly held upright. He swung down at the tree in front of him, which had been covered in scrapes and gashes. He grunted slightly when his knife made contact with the tree and he jumped back from it. Bloom could tell from Sky's grip and posture that he was not entirely comfortable with such a small weapon. Sky raised his arm once and moved back in front of the tree.

"Yo!" He yelled out before swinging at the tree. "Shi!" He hit the tree again. "No!" He hit the tree again. "Ya!" He hit the tree again. He let out a yell of anger before hitting the tree one more time. After he had done so, he turned around, feeling as if someone was watching him. Bloom pulled herself back, but the thin tree she was behind was unable to hide her very well. "Bloom, I can see you."

"I was just out for a walk and I didn't want to bother you," Bloom replied softly, as she walked out from behind the tree. "I guess I should go now."

"You don't have to leave if you don't want to." Sky said, reaching out to her with his left hand. Bloom stayed quiet for a short while.

"How do you know Luri will show up to fight you?"

"If he doesn't he'll only disgrace himself further on this realm. Honour is important here. I think he'll follow through."

"Okay then," Bloom said. She paused to think over what she would say next. "You seem really angry about Yoshinoya's involvement."

"Only because I am." Sky answered flatly. He hit the tree with the knife.

"How do you know he'll show up?"

"I don't."

"What will you do if he does?"

"I'll have him put him away once and for all."

"And if he doesn't show up?"

"Then I'll hunt him down myself." He turned around and hit the tree.

"I see," Bloom said quietly, frowning slightly. "I won't bother you anymore." She turned away from Sky and walked back to the palace. Sky stared down at the ground before he began to swing his blade at the tree once more.

He had lost track of the hours, only realizing how late it had was when the sun was gone and the stars and moons were out.

* * *

When Sky had awoken in the morning, he entered the throne room to find it packed with several different people, one of which was the mayor of Sacro. Sky walked over to the mayor.

"Why are there so many people here?" He asked the mayor.

"We are here to act as the witnesses to the mor'chor battle between yourself and the ex-prince," the mayor replied. "'Kejes informed us that the challenge had been made." Sky nodded at the man, and made his way over to Kejes.

"Ah, your highness it is good to see you," The wiry man said. "As you know, the way of mor'chor is very ritualistic. Since you are king, there is a specific set of clothing you must wear. In fact, they're the clothes I'm holding right now."

"I can't just wear my royal uniform?" Sky asked, looking down at the clothes he had been already wearing.

"That is correct. I have the clothes you wear for the knife-bearing ceremony right here however." Kejes handed Sky three separate garments, a white robe, a white shirt, and a black pair of pants, as well as the crown of Litus, and a simple ring.

"So neither combatant wears any shoes or boots?"

"That's correct. Nothing that would give one side an advantage over the other. The battle will be fought here in the throne room at noon. When the battle begins, it is tradition for the king to remove the robe, give the crown to someone who could wear it should he succumb to wounds after the fight, give the ring to the one who has his heart, and receive his knife from his most trusted ally."

"Thank you Kejes."

"You're welcome your majesty. Remember, The battle begins very soon. But one more thing." Sky had stopped himself from leaving to listen to the last thing the man had to say. "Please win your majesty. Don't make us suffer with the alternative." Sky grinned at the man and nodded before leaving him to put on the clothes. The clothing was very soft and loose on him, made of some of the most expensive fabrics of Litus. Only the best for a ritual like this, Sky noted.

* * *

Sky returned to the throne room after putting on his clothing, and the room was much more settled when he had returned. Brandon had waited for him to get back, and greeted him as he entered the room.

"Hey," Brandon began. "I've got the dagger that you're gonna use in the fight right here." Brandon revealed the sharp, double-edged metal dagger he was holding by the blade in his gloved right hand. There was no sheath. Brandon sighed. "You'd better win this. I need someone to be my best man if I ever marry Stella." Brandon smirked at Sky.

"I'll be there," Sky said confidently. He reached out and patted Brandon's shoulder before giving him a firm nod. Brandon grinned at him and walked back to the throne, taking his spot between Samara and Bloom in the large circle of people.

Sky followed him there, and stood in front of his mother, who put her hands around his face.

"My son is a man now..." Samara said wistfully. "The new king of Eraklyon..." Sky looked sadly at his mother.

"Do you disapprove of my actions mother?" Sky said sadly.

"What I may think of your actions is no longer of importance. Your father and I can't guide you forever. Whatever you do, as king you must learn to make the right decisions and live with the consequences, for good and ill." Samara smiled at Sky. "I trust you enough to believe that the choices you make in life will be responsible ones."

"Thank you mother," Sky said as he smiled back at Samara.

Bloom stood in front of the throne along with Brandon and Samara, as well as an elderly man to her left. Sky approached her quickly, wanting to speak with her before the battle would begin. When he was close to her, he noticed her eyes were slightly puffy and red. When she turned to face him, with a gloomy expression on her face and tears streaming down her cheeks all he could do was embrace her as tightly as he could.

"P-please," Bloom stammered. "Please be careful."

"I will," Sky said warmly. He pulled away from her, placing his hands on her shoulders so he could see her face. He smiled when her eyes were looking into his. He could not help but hate himself a bit for what his actions had made Bloom, as well as Brandon and his mother go through. He wiped away her tears with his hands.

Bloom smiled, as she willed herself to stop crying. Sky took his seat on the throne, waiting for the arrival of his foe. When he looked to the clock he saw there were only five minutes until noon. He turned his gaze to the translucent floor, and followed the path of the river underneath to the grand entrance to the throne room. There he saw the silhouette of his enemy, obscured by bright light pouring in from the entrance. The ex-Prince Luri. After a long silence, the man finally spoke.

"We come for you, son of Eraklyon."

* * *

**"Author's" Notes:**

Yay for a title drop! It's one of the few things from the original draft that made it into these rewritten chapters. Getting really close to the end now! For such a short story, this sure is taking long.

Sorry this is short despite the wait, there's just not much left to cram in at this point. Had to get the mushy romance stuff out of the way. There was more speaking involved, but it seemed more powerful to me without it. Just like last chapter, I don't really feel completely satisfied with this one, but I hope you all liked it.

Thanks for reading this story! Please leave your thoughts, comments and criticisms in the reviews so I can improve! :D


	6. Chapter 6

**A huge thank you to everyone who has supported me over the course of this story!**

* * *

Luri stepped into the room, Ivora close behind him. It was only the two of them.

"Where's your employer?" Sky asked coldly.

"Were you really expecting him to show up?" Luri responded.

"Truthfully? No, not really." Sky had known enough about the crime lord to not expect his presence. For all Sky knew, Yoshinoya was on some planet at the edge of the universe.

"Enough talk," the old man standing next to Bloom said. "Take your position in the circle. It is now noon."

* * *

Sky removed his robe from his shoulders, letting the garment fall to the ground, revealing the simple white shirt with loose black pants underneath. Luri had worn a red shirt and black pants that were slightly tighter than the ones that Sky was wearing. Luri took a ring off of his finger and handed it over to Ivora, who had taken her place standing in the ring by the exit of the palace. She held the ring closely to her chest before saying goodbye. Luri drew the dagger he had tucked into his belt with his right hand. He held it in a reverse grip with the hilt in the direction of his thumb.

Walking over to his mother, Sky had given her the crown of Litus and royal necklace he had and kissed her hand lightly. He then walked over to Bloom and gave her the ring he had been wearing, before they kissed each other. No words were spoken. He stepped over to Brandon, who handed Sky his dagger, handle forward. Sky held the dagger in a forward grip in his right hand and bowed slightly to Brandon who bowed in return.

Sky stepped to the middle of the chamber to meet Luri eye to eye, the ring of battle formed by those who watched the battle; a wide oval around the combatants. Bloom was unable to contain her worry, and her face had shown it. Her heart had been beating heavily and quickly in anticipation of the battle that was to come.

The two warriors had adopted their battle stances; eyes narrowed, slightly crouched, shifting balance between their two feet constantly. Sky dared Luri to make the first move with a taunting glare. Luri accepted the challenge and sprung forward. He made a broad swing with his dagger arm, forcing Sky to side-step to avoid the strike. Luri followed through with a kick to the stomach.

Sky coughed out in pain, before retaliated by swinging his own dagger at Luri's leg. When Luri pulled his leg back swiftly, Sky struck with a sharp jab of his elbow to the ribcage.

Luri choked on his breath and stammered back. Upon returning his focus to the battle, he caught a glance of Sky somersaulting over him and moved, barely managing to avoid a dagger swing to the kidney. Luri grabbed Sky's right arm with his free hand and twisted it, locking it in place as he slashed down at Sky's wrist. Sky managed to turn his wrist as much as he could. He took a slash to the back of his wrist, some of his warm blood spilled to the floor, prompting a worried gasp from Bloom in the audience.

Sky punched Luri in the nose, freeing his arm from Luri's grasp. Sky touched his cut with his left hand and brought his gaze back to his hand to see blood on it. He wiped his hand on his shirt, staining it, the smell of his blood now in the air. Sky lunged at Luri, only to perform a kick aimed at the man's knees. Luri dodged the kick by jumping towards Sky, attempting a downward swing of his dagger. Sky twisted his body out of the way, and managed to cut Luri's leg as he came landing back down. Luri cried out, flipped the dagger in his hand to a forward grip, and stabbed at Sky, but only cut into his shirt. Luri began swinging wildly at Sky, only to be surprised when Sky dodged out of sight just before the blade could contact with his body.

Luri managed to avoid a fatal stab from behind, rotating his body out of the way, ready to punch Sky in the side of his head. Sky took the blow full force, staggering back. Luri jumped towards him, his arm in mid swing. Sky was able to pull back, but the tip of blade still managed to graze him, in the upper right portion of his chest, and he grunted in pain, as more blood splattered to the floor.

"Sky!" Bloom called out from the audience, an audible fear in her voice. She moved forward slightly only to be stopped by the old man standing next to her.

"It is not your place to interfere," he whispered. Bloom bit her lip, and reluctantly moved back to her original position in the ring of watchers.

Sky had glanced to her with a worried look in his eyes, as Luri had glared to the woman angrily. Sky noticed the look in his eyes and gritted his teeth.

"Your enemy is me, not her," Sky said, his voice quavering with exhaustion.

"Don't tire yourself further. I'll not have them say I killed you dishonourably," Luri responded, following through by lunging towards Sky. The king performed a swift dodging lean, forcing Luri to turn his forward momentum into a roll away from Sky. Sky noticed his breath was becoming harder to catch; his muscles were also beginning to feel tight. Sky knew that taxing his body further would be risky. A single seized muscle, and the fight would be over. He could only hope his opponent was in a similar situation.

The two men charged at one another. In a grapple, Sky managed to force Luri to drop his dagger away from himself. Luri managed to pull Sky's dagger arm behind his back, and twisted his wrist, causing the dagger to fall out of his loose grip. Sky knocked Luri away, and tried to leap towards his dagger to pick it up. Luri, unable to reach it with his hands as quickly slid over to the dagger, and kicked it away from Sky's reach, before returning his leg in to kick Sky's face. Sky held his hand up to his nose. He could feel blood running out through his nostrils, filling him with its scent. The ring of watchers was beginning to grow restless from the fight, the pristine stone floor of the palace was stained all over by the blood of the combatants.

The two men had exchanged punches and kicks, before Luri managed to slam Sky into the palace's hard floor. Sky had managed to avoid taking the full blunt of the attack by turning his body slightly, but the hard impact had still stunned him. In the time it took Sky to stand up once more, Luri had managed to regain his dagger. Sky dodged a leaping blow from behind, before picking his own dagger up from the floor.

The two warriors rushed towards each other once more. Sky managed to cut deep into Luri's right shoulder, spraying blood near to Bloom's feet, making her step back. Luri shut his eyes, and screamed loudly. He kicked Sky's feet out from under him, making him fall onto his back on the floor. Luri jumped on top of Sky, and held his knife arm down. The king stared up into the bloodshot eyes of his enemy and dropped his dagger. Sky grabbed Luri's arm with his left hand, and manipulated Luri's stab towards the floor beside his right shoulder. As the dagger cut into the side of his shoulder, Sky gritted his teeth, and ignored the pain. He cuffed Luri in the throat with his knuckles. As Luri recoiled, Sky picked up the dagger he let go of, brought it up to Luri's neck, and stabbed him in the throat. Luri's body froze up for a split second, before going limp as Sky threw him off of himself, and pulled out his bloodied dagger.

Sky stood up, triumphant over the enemy that had hated the royal house of Eraklyon, and had sought out the destruction of its heir. Sky bent over slightly and rested his hands on his knees as he began catch his breath, rather heavily, exhausted after the battle.

A few members of watching audience came forth to take the body of Luri away. Ivora followed them as they went. Bloom rushed over to Sky to assist him. Samara had let out a sigh of relief that her son had managed to be the victor in the fight. When Bloom made it next to Sky, he collapsed, but she had managed to catch hold of him before he hit the floor. Samara and Brandon rushed forward to help.

"Sky! Are you gonna be okay?" Bloom asked softly. Sky could see through his haze, the worry in her eyes, tears beginning to form.

"I'm glad it's over," he smiled weakly. "I'm tired." He looked down at his ripped and blood-stained garments. He closed his eyes and his breathing became slower.

"Don't try to talk," Samara said breathlessly.

"We're going to search high and low for Yoshinoya," Brandon promised. "He's not getting away again."

A few more members of the watchers came forward to help him to the infirmary. Sky looked at his best friend. "I'll hold you to that promise. Let's find him."

* * *

**"Author's" Notes:**

And so ends my first (posted) fanfic! It's also the first fanfic I've ever finished, even among the ones I dare not post. I am so sorry this took forever to finish. This chapter went through a ton of changes.

Sequel bait? Possibly. Not for a while though. I need a break from this storyline.

Thank you very much for reading this story! Please leave your thoughts, comments and criticisms in the reviews so I can improve! :p


End file.
